Amputee Coalition Of America

Amputees get back up and running

What: United Amputee Basketball League demonstration game
When: Saturday. The half-court demonstration game will take place at halftime during a game between the Tennessee Tornadoes and the Columbus Stars, which begins at 7:15 p.m.
Where: Lincoln County High School, 1233 Huntsville Highway, Fayetteville
Tickets: $8 for adults, $2 for kids 11 to 17, and free for kids 10 and under
Details: For information about sponsoring or playing on a team, email tntornadoes@gmail.com or call Eldridge Askins at 578-9893 or Aaron Fitzsimmons at 498-3622. For information about obtaining a prosthetic “running leg,” contact Fitzsimmons.

When Daryl Farler lost both of his legs, he doubted that he’d be able to walk again. Five years later, he’s running around playing basketball.

Farler was 25 when a dog scratched his left eye and he developed a serious strep infection. The medication he needed to stay alive restricted blood flow to his extremities and he lost both legs below the knee and several fingers.

He was in shock and initially clueless about his options, and the fear of being helpless fueled his depression.

“There’s a lot of depression,” says Farler, who is now 30 and lives in Murfreesboro. “I lived for 25 years with feet.”

What Farler learned is that advances in prosthetic technology have made it easier for amputees to be as active as anyone. He runs. He hunts. And now he has joined the new United Amputee Basketball League — a stand-up, three-on-three, basketball league for people who have lost a leg. He will be playing for a team that’s sponsored by Amputee Associates, a Nashville company that made his artificial limbs.

“It’s time to be a role model for someone else,” Farler says.

Eldridge Askins, founder of the United Amputee Basketball League, said that’s exactly why he’s starting the league. The Fayetteville resident — who is in the process of moving back to Nashville — says he wants to raise awareness that there’s nothing amputees can’t do, and to let people know that there are programs available to obtain costly “running” prosthetics that will allow them to be active, but typically aren’t covered by insurance. According to the Amputee Coalition, 1.7 million Americans have lost a limb; an estimated 90 percent of amputations are of the lower extremities.

“Anybody can say my life is over when you lose a leg. I want to show them that it doesn’t have to be that way,” says Askins, who is also the owner of the Tennessee Tornadoes, a World Basketball Association team.

Amputee Coalition of America Conference-Bound | Born Just Right

So far it’s looking like Saturday evening is our best bet. I have at least one other mom and her son who has a helper leg. Hopefully I can recruit more families. Trisha, I’ll need your help picking a good spot to hang out for those of us who are at the Westin. There’s the Crayola restaurant… but I’m sure there are other options. Just let me know!

I hope we can get quite a gathering of kids/parents. I’m getting so excited. I’ve checked out a few options. However, KC is not really a “family friendly” place after the sun goes down, which is sad because it’s really a beautiful city. Anyway, most of the options I have found close between 4:30 and 5:00 pm. Do you know what time might work for everyone?

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